Knights of Lore
by Lulu C. T
Summary: Alston, the reigning champion of the Calbret region, is faced with a difficult mission. His queen has been slain and his prized Poke'mon stolen away by a greedy overlord who wants nothing more then to reawaken an ancient terror.
1. Intruders

So...this has to be the first time I've ever written a fic of this kind. :P it was just kind of spur of the moment, damnIwannawrite sort of thing. I've been on a middle-age-y kick for the longest time so you get what you get, I suppose. Enjoy!

* * *

Monday, September 25th 1452

3:34 AM

It had been a good week. The land of Calbret had celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary of independence from the tyrannical rule of Lord Kaddmont with a grand gala. Knights traveled from the far edges of Calbret with their ladies to attend the finely conceived event with great pleasure. The ball had gone on for a full day, only ending just three hours before midnight. The day consisted of a feast, a ball and of course the final to a battle tournament in which the strongest of the strong would be crowned. The victory was coveted by all.

Now the palace of Calbret stood quietly overseeing the small village that encircled it, a silent monarch keeping vigil over his people through the night. All through the castle, not a sound could be heard but the soft slumbering sounds of the Queen and her subjects.

Queen Sophie was a fine leader, all the villagers agreed. She ruled with an iron fist but never unfairly. Sophie stood at an intimidating six foot, rather unusual for a woman of her time and her golden hair fell in luxuriously coiled locks around her thin face. Her eyes were a light amber honey, lovely and soft though at the moment they were closed in sleep.

Only one soul sat awake at this late hour and his name was Alston, no other then the reigning champion of Calbret. Alston sat in bed, dressed in a simple blue button down shirt and matching pants serving as pajamas. He had once again defended his position after defeating more then a score of opponents over the week long tournament. In his hands he turned the medal over and over, peering with intense brown eyes at the picture etched into the soft gold ore. It was of a Seviper entwined around a lance, its eyes squinted into terrible slits of ruby red. Something about it made him uneasy. Perhaps it was the fact that Lord Kaddmont had used a Seviper as his lackey through out most of his reign. It was odd how the symbol of power had never changed even when the kingdom's leadership had swapped to the favor of the Andaline family.

With a clank, Alston laid the medal on the ornate dresser beside his bed. He was exhausted from the day's activities but still sleep eluded him. He ran a hand through his tussled mousey brown hair and sighed. Dawn would be arriving back shortly from its round trip and soon the whole town would be awake.

Alston forced his eyes shut and laid his head on his pillow. Slowly he drifted into a troubled sleep.

Monday, September 25th 1452

4:28 AM

Alston woke with a start to the sound of shattering glass. With a hiss an arrow stood quivering just a few inches shy from his head in the wall above him. The arrowed smoldered slightly and he leapt from the bed as a few embers drifted lazily down.

The dusky night was rent with screams, the sound filtering through the broken glass of his bedroom window easily. Oily smoke roiled through the air, snaking its way upward, blotting out the moon and stars.

A soft growling from the far left side of the bed now alerted Alston that his companion had also come awake from the noise. From around the foot board of the bed stalked a large blue and yellow canine like creature. Her lips were pulled back in a snarl, exposing ivory white incisors and pink gum.

"Peace, Volt." Alston said softly, ruffling the creatures head fur with a hand, "We'll find our opponents soon enough."

The Manetric snorted impatiently, her tail swishing behind her in a slow arch. She was clearly agitated at the noises of terror just outside of the palace. She stayed close to her master's side as he pulled open his door and made his way into main hallway of the castle.

It was silent in the stone halls of the palace and eerily dark. The torches that lit the hallway had been doused earlier that evening. Blindly, Alston groped along the wall, pressing against the warm fur of Volt whose keen eyes could cut through the darkness easily.

Alston stood frozen mid step as a thunderous snarl ripped through his Pokémon's throat. He squinted his eyes and could barely make out the forms of three men garbed in black. They stood stoically in front of the Queen's door, arms crossed.

Volt's snarl however, had alerted one of the men to Alston's presence. He grabbed for something tied to his belt and cried out into the dark, "Who's there?"

When no one answered, the man untied the thing from belt and threw it to the ground. A beam of white light issued from the ball shot and a whiskered bipedal and slightly feline creature materialized. Its body was pale yellow and on its forehead a bright red star stood prominent.

"Flash, Kadabra." The man commanded. Rather daft on his part, Alston thought as he squeezed his eyes shut as a wave of light washed through out the hallway.

"There's someone standi' right over there!" Another of the men shouted as the light dimmed. He was a burly sort of fellow, obviously not too intelligent. His comment earned him a whack from his ratty companion who chided, "Really now? Ye idjit, we can see him, we ain't blind ye know!"

With two more flashes of white light, two more Pokémon materialized beside the Kadabra; a Gengar and Duskull. The Duskull was small but frightening to look at. It's black and translucent body floated just above the ground and what would have been its face was hidden behind a skull shaped mask. The Gengar was also intimidating; red eyes gleamed with interest to what was before it and a long pink tongue lolled from its lips.

Alston smirked; the battle would be easy enough. Before the fight commenced however, he had some questions he needed answered, "Who are you three and what are your intentions?"

The oafish man sneered, revealing blackened stumps of teeth and said "Wouldn't ye like to know what we're doin 'ere wouldn't ye? We has our orders though, we ain't supposed to tell ye that we're here to assassinate the queen!"

With a groan, his partner in crime kicked his shins with vigor. His voice was a high pitched whine and rather grating. Alston wished dearly for him to shut his mouth the moment he opened it to speak, "Why do ye got to be so stupid for, Archi?"

Panic clamored loudly in Alston's chest. He would need to stop these men at all costs or the peace Calbret had fought so hard for would be lost. As the panic subsided, Alston ordered his attack on the three buffoons, "Volt, charge beam!"

The Manetric leapt into action. With a bark it fired off a sizzling beam of electricity from her muzzle and straight for the Duskull who was at once knocked out from the fight. Too easy, Alston thought as the Kadabra unleashed a confusion attack which Volt quickly broke out of. She delivered a crushing bite to the Psychic type before it too fainted.

All that remained the Gengar who looked considerably stronger then the previous two opponents. He floated in mid air, his hands moving hypnotically in circles. Volt's eyelids began to droop lower as she faltered.

"Volt, snap out of it!" Alston commanded though he too began to feel drowsy, "Give it a thunderbolt!"

Volt managed to shake herself out of her stupor and cried as she released a blast of electric power straight for the Gengar.

The poor ghost type Pokémon jerked and twitched as the charge knocked him from the air. Volt sped over to the fallen Gengar and lunged, ready for another bite attack when he vanished into thin air.

Alston grit his teeth. He strongly disliked ghost type Pokémon for this reason. They were always tricky little buggers who liked to play mind games with their opponents.

Volt swung her head upwards, her nose twitching frantically to find a scent. She was preoccupied so it was no surprise when the Gengar appeared behind her and released a shadow ball no more than three feet away. Volt let out a pained howl as the attack sent her body smashing into a stone wall with a thud.

The Gengar snickered happily at Volt's agony and gleefully danced through the air turning circles and twisting merrily. He would pay his price for his arrogance, Alston thought as Volt pulled herself to her feet. As he danced, the Manetric was charging her power, her fur standing straight up on end as the static crackled throughout her body.

"Thunder." Alston ordered, very much relieved he was not the Gengar at this moment of time. With a detonating boom, the thunder ripped through Volt's body, violently encircling the Gengar and bringing it out of the fight.

The three would be thugs exchanged glances of horror. They had lost the battle and they would be at the mercy of the Manetric if they didn't high tail it out of there and soon. They knew the penalty to fleeing from a battle but there was no other choice. They'd rather face their boss then the menacing Manetric. The three recalled their Pokémon and fled. The thin reedy man threw a glance over his shoulder as he ran, feet pounding against cement as he called out sneeringly, "It's just too bad yer to late to save your queen, hero!"

Alston's face furrowed as the cryptic words reached him. Too late? The crooks had not even entered the room nor had he heard any sounds of disturbance. Just as he was about to turn to the Queen's bed chamber and enter, the knob turned and the door was pushed open.


	2. Quake

Woah, I actually completed a second chapter in less then a week? Be still my heart! This one is a tad bit shorter but what can I say? Enjoy chapter two!

* * *

Chapter 2

A middle aged man stepped through the doorway, suavely dressed in long black robes. High cheekbones gave him a skull like appearance and his skin was drawn and sallow. Thin black hair fell to his ears in a tangled mess and Alston could just make out the pale grey eyes beneath the veil of locks. With a jolt of realization, Alston noted that the seal upon the man's robes was the same as on the medal he had received. The Seviper embroidered on the fabric glared blankly ahead.

It took a moment for the man to realize Alston was standing there with his Manetric. A slow smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he said in a slight drawl, "Good evening, Sir Alston."

Volt growled softly, and her hackles rose in a defensive posture. The man gave the Pokémon a look laden with scorn before lazily turning his attention back to Alston.

"I see my efforts have roused you from your slumber. I regret to inform you that you're just a tad bit too late to save any lives tonight." He smirked and continued, "Of course, that is only regretful for you as it is what I had planned, after all."

Alston's hands balled into fists and his eyes burned with anger, smoldering and flickering like live fire. Something about this man was familiar. He could not quite place his face, no matter how hard he tried to conjure up the origin.

"I see the questions in your eyes." The man said, "Aye, we know each other. Don't you recall? I suppose not, seeing as the queen always kept me in the shadows. I dare say she knew I was a little off but yet she kept me around…"

Alston struggled for a moment longer before it dawned on him. This was Lord Kaddmont's charge, Ziral. He had been trained in hopes that if Kaddmont had been defeated, there would be a successor. Ziral was Kaddmont's youngest cousin, hand chosen for the deed because of his cold ruthless nature. Of course, after Kaddmont had been slain, Ziral had been thrown in the town jail. No one wanted to risk the peace of Calbret.

Alston said slowly, "It was well known that you had died in the jail over four years ago. How is that you are here and alive? Who spread those lies?"

Ziral stared stoically at Alston with his flinty eyes and clicked his tongue in disapproval, "I thought you were more intelligent then this, Alston. It was your very own Queen who had spread those lies. She had freed me from the jail. Did she not confide in you that an uprising was afoot?"

"N-no…" Alston stammered, stricken. The Queen had always confided in him, asked his advice. He had heard nothing of the sort.

"Ah, well. I had managed to convince her that my twenty five years in jail had set me straight. I had turned over a new leaf and I wanted to help her stop the uprising." He gave a short bark of laughter and continued his narrative, "She was easily fooled but of course she could not allow me to be seen with her so she hid me away in an unused room and forbade anyone from entering. She then spread rumors of my death. Everyone was overjoyed; no one asked questions. I suppose she paid the jail guard good money to keep his stupid gob shut as well."

Alston stood, shaking his head slowly before speaking, "You're wrong. The Queen would never betray her country by sheltering a murderer."

"Perhaps you should not put people up on such high pedestals, hm? Humans are fickle with their loyalties. They go after whatever suits them best. That is rule one Alston; trust no one but yourself."

Alston frowned and said, "What's rule two?"

Ziral laughed and replied flatly, "I'm glad you asked. It's simple really; destroy those who stand in the way before they have the chance to stop you." As he said this, he reached for his robes and released his Pokémon from its container.

With a bellow, the Pokémon stepped forth. The sheer girth of the creature made the floors tremble with each step and for once, Alston was frightened. He had never seen such a creature as this; it towered over Ziral by at least two foot and its reptilian body was covered in green rocky scales. Vicious looking spikes rose from the crest of its head and down its back. In the center of the beasts chest was a teal diamond formed out of long sheets of scale.

"I see you quake before my friend." Ziral said with a grin full of arrogance, "You do well to fear him. No one has ever beaten him. I doubt you will be the first with your mutt of a Pokémon to help you."

Volt snarled at Ziral. The insult seemed to have set off a short fuse in the Pokémon and it made a beeline for Ziral. The prehistoric looking Tyranitar was quicker then Alston would have given credit for. He appeared before his trainer and side swiped Volt with a quick lash of his tail. Volt was struck down at once, landing on all four paws three feet away. She looked winded but relatively unharmed.

Alston grinned, eager to boost his own confidence, "If that's the best your lizard can do then why should I be frightened?"

Ziral waved a hand dismissively, "That was not even a taste of his power. Tyranitar, stone edge."

The Tyranitar lowered his head and began to charge toward Volt. Alston quickly called out a counter attack, "Thunderbolt! Bring it down, Volt!"

Volt released a jagged bolt of electricity into the speeding Pokémon but to no avail. The energy simple fizzled off of his rocky hide as it continued on his way. Volt was powerless as he reached her. Just before impact, the creature turned to the side and rammed his spikes into Volt's side. Once again she was tossed through the air as if a rag doll.

Alston was knocked down as Volt collided with him. Both man and Pokémon fell in a heap. It was clear Volt was out for the fight. Before he could reach for his pockets to call out another, the ground began to quake. A fissure split along the ground just a few feet away. The castle was collapsing. He shot a quick look over to Ziral.

Ziral had recalled his Tyranitar and stood with a new Pokémon that looked quite like the Kadabra Alston fought before. It was slightly larger and had longer whiskers and now carried a spoon in each clawed paw.

"What have you done?" Alston asked as stones began to fall from the ceiling and crashing dangerously close to him and his Pokémon.

"Oh, this? This is Tyranitar's greatest move. I figured why not bring down the place and destroy the peasant's hope all together, hm?"

"The Queen!" Alston exclaimed, suddenly forgetting the quaking building completely. He struggled to stand as the floor shifted beneath him.

"Fool, I thought you had figured it out. The queen is dead. You cannot save what has already been lost."

Alston lost his balance again and fell. He sat up quickly and sputtered, "You…you didn't…"

"I needn't repeat myself." Ziral said coldly.

Alston was about to throw back a death threat when something heavy clashed with his head. The air swam before him and darkness began to creep from every corner. Hazily he could see Ziral walk toward him, that damn smirk of his still plastered to his face. Alston felt something thick trickle down his temple into his eyes. He could barely piece it together. It was blood; his blood.

He sank to the ground, groaning as Ziral disappeared from view. A dark tide washed over his senses which he fell into eagerly.


End file.
